Devices for holding articles in a fixed position are well known in the art. One category is those devices which fasten an article to a flat horizontal surface for the purpose of performing work on the article (such as woodworking, metalworking, and the like). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,254 illustrates a collapsible work bench apparatus for use with clamps and conventional power tools. The work bench includes two pairs of support legs pivotally connected to two pairs of strut arms. An apertured support surface includes inboard and outboard channels that may be joined together to other work bench apparatus in both end-to-end and side-to-side fashion by a locking clip and a locking bar. The channels are designed to receive diverse accessories and clamping systems for the purpose of securing workpieces to the support surface. U.S. Pat. No. 5,505,438 discloses a work piece locating apparatus for a burn table. The apparatus has a locator which is moveable with the work piece and a second position at which the locator is spaced from the work piece. U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,654 describes a woodworking work table assembly having an extruded T-slot. The worktable assembly includes a worktable having a work supporting surface and an elongated slot formed therein. A guide insert is positioned within the slot. U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,454 depicts a universal self-aligning locator for supporting a plurality of parts in their proper relative position for assembly and/or clamping to a machine bed and the like. The locator includes a support member having a base leg with a cam locking device for engagement with a T-slot on the machine bed. U.S. Pat. No. 1,329,728 shows a universal clamp tool for rigidly holding stock of a round or other shape during the performance of machine operations upon the stock. A base slides along T-slots in a machine bed.
Another category of device is specifically designed to mitigate the effects of seismic events. These devices secure articles to a substantially horizontal planar surface such as a tabletop using an upwardly projecting unistrut and associated restraint. However, the aforementioned device is difficult to use in that (1) an article can only be connected at one marginally accessible point at the back of the table, therefore requiring the user to awkwardly stretch, (2) the track requires adjustment, and (3) because of the upwardly projecting track, the device is not generally useful as a flat tabletop surface.
While each of these aforementioned devices adequately serve their intended purpose, they do not address the needs of a typical work station in a modern day industrial setting (such as for securing expensive electronic equipment to a horizontal work surface). Specifically, these prior art devices do not include the structural features necessary to withstand the shock and vibration resulting from a seismic event.